police

Transcript of address given by Governor Richard J. Hughes to the Governor’s Select Commission for the Study of Civil Disorder in New Jersey on August 8, 1967. The Commission was convened by Governor Hughes to study “the causes, the incidents, and the remedies” for the 1967 Newark rebellion. The Governor’s Commission, also known as the Lilley Commission after its chair Robert Lilley, held months of hearings from Newark residents and later published its findings in Report for Action. — Credit: New Jersey State Archives

Headline from a flyer distributed by the Clinton Hill Neighborhood Council announcing a picket at the Fifth Precinct on June 29, 1964. The protest was planned in response to insulting remarks made by police to residents of Hunterdon Street after they requested fair treatment and better service by police in their neighborhood. — Credit: Newark Public Library

Excerpt from the Governor’s Select Commission on Civil Disorder regarding the influence of the Parker-Callaghan fight on the 1967 Newark rebellion. The excerpt includes testimony from Police Director Dominick Spina saying ‘The types of speeches that were made before the Planning Board and the Board of Education tell you, almost predict, that there is going to be blood running in the streets.’ — Credit: Report for Action: Governor’s Select Commission on Civil Disorder, State of New Jersey

Clipping from an unmarked newspaper covering a meeting of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) on October 11, 1965. The meeting, attended by roughly 100 people, was held to address Mayor Addonizio’s responses to community demands for a police review board in Newark. Those who attended the meeting, including Robert Curvin, Fred Means, and Carl Katidus, criticized the shortcomings of Addonizio’s proposals for police reform. Newark Human Rights Commission director James Threatt was “booed repeatedly” when he spoke in support of Addonizio’s plans. — Credit: Newark Public Library

Issue of the African-American newspaper, Advance, from January 6, 1966. The issue contains coverage of demands made by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) for the dismissal of Police Director Dominick Spina. CORE demanded Spina’s ouster in a meeting with Mayor Addonizio after a Black teenager, Walter Mathis, was fatally shot by Newark police. This issue also details several high-profile cases of police brutality from 1962-1966, a period in which Newark’s Black and Puerto Rican communities continuously advocated for police reform and accountability to no avail from City Hall. — Credit: Newark Public Library

Press release from the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey summarizing a letter from ACLU executive director Fred Barbaro to Mayor Addonizio. The letter critiqued Addonizio’s rejection of the police review board, taking particular exception to the Mayor’s plan to forward all allegations of police brutality to the FBI. The referral of these cases to the FBI was seen by many Black and Puerto Rican communities as a token gesture that would provide no redress to victims of police misconduct. — Credit: Newark Public Library

Statement presented by Mayor Addonizio on September 15, 1965 to address the issue of a “police review board.” Addonizio made this announcement after the Newark Human Rights Commission held, on his orders, a series of four public hearings on the topic in July and August. The members of the Commission split 6-6 in their vote on the issue and Mayor Addonizio rejected the proposed board about a week later. Instead of a review board, Addonizio announced that all future allegations of police brutality would be forwarded to the FBI. In addition, the Mayor instituted a citizen observer program, a Human Relations Training Institute, a community-relations post within the police department, and a code of conduct for the police that outlawed using derogatory words toward citizens. — Credit: NJ State Archives

A view from inside City Hall during the fourth and final public hearing on a “police advisory review board” held by the Newark Human Rights Commission. The Commission held these hearings from July 13 to August 3 to gather public testimony on a proposed “police advisory review board” in the wake of the fatal shooting of Lester Long by Patrolman Henry Martinez. The Commission held an executive session to vote on a resolution following the hearings, where the members were split 6-6 on the issue. The review board was not established and the struggle over a police advisory board continued through the 1960s, and beyond. — Credit: Doug Eldridge Collection

Cover page from the fourth and final public hearing of the Newark Human Rights Commission on a Police Advisory Review Board in 1965. The Commission held these hearings from July 13 to August 3 to gather public testimony on a proposed “police advisory review board” in the wake of the fatal shooting of Lester Long by Patrolman Henry Martinez. The Commission held an executive session to vote on a resolution following the hearings, where the members were split 6-6 on the issue. The review board was not established and the struggle over a police advisory board continued through the 1960s, and beyond. — Credit: City of Newark Archives and Records Management Center